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SBSTTA 16 Recommendation XVI/8

XVI/8.Proposals on integrating biodiversity considerations into climate-change-related activities, including addressing gaps in knowledge and information

The Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice
1.Invites Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations, including national and international organizations responsible for funding and conducting research activities, to provide technical and financial support, strengthen capacity-building and build knowledge and information on the linkages between biodiversity and climate change, including traditional knowledge, innovations and practices embodying traditional lifestyles, with prior informed consent or approval and involvement of the holders of such knowledge, by:
(a)Promoting work that considers the outputs from a number of individual models (multi-model combinations), together with ground-truthing, including through field-based observations and experiments, to generate fine-scale projections of the impacts of climate change on biodiversity, particularly on the most vulnerable ecosystems and species;
(b)Building knowledge, with comparable datasets, on the potential impacts of climate change and climate change response activities on biodiversity relevant for decision makers responsible for land-use planning and implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity, bearing in mind the specific needs of indigenous and local communities and other stakeholders, from local to regional scales;
(c)Subject to national legislation, respecting, preserving and maintaining the knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles related to the linkages between biodiversity and climate change with the prior informed consent or approval and involvement of the holders of such knowledge and encouraging the equitable sharing of such benefits arising from the utilization of such knowledge, innovations and practices;
(d)Developing and improving regional programmes for bioclimatic modelling and monitoring the impacts of climate change on biodiversity;
(e)Addressing gaps in biodiversity modelling including, inter alia, the impacts of invasive alien species and overexploitation in terrestrial, coastal and marine systems; pollution and invasive species in freshwater systems; and land degradation and pollution in coastal and marine systems;
(f)Encouraging research to strengthen knowledge on how the impacts of climate change on biodiversity affect the delivery of ecosystem services;
(g)Identifying data and information needs, availability and gaps in order to determine how to develop or improve the extent to which existing data collection and management systems support decision-making, adaptive management, national planning and reporting on the impacts of climate change on biodiversity;
(h)Liaising with existing data-standard bodies and data-sharing initiatives at the global, regional and national levels to enhance access to and the interoperability of relevant global data sets and promoting the establishment or enhancement of national data collection and management systems;
(i)Investing in higher education and training programmes, including for researchers across different biodiversity disciplines, on monitoring, field study tools and methodologies and bioclimatic modelling;
(j)Investing in the consolidation and strengthening of national institutional capacities to monitor climate change impacts on biodiversity; and
(k)Strengthening or establishing multi-purpose monitoring programmes for climate change impacts on biodiversity, among others, the Biodiversity Observations Network of the Group on Earth Observations, and encouraging the online publication of the resulting data from these monitoring programmes, with the view to maximize the use of limited resources as well as to effectively address information gaps in both spatial and temporal scales;
2.Recommends that the Conference of the Parties at its eleventh meeting adopts a decision along the following lines:
The Conference of the Parties,
Recalling in particular, decisions VIII/30, IX/16, annex II, and decision X/33,
1.Endorses the recommendations of the Subsidiary Body (paragraph 1 of the present recommendation) to strengthen knowledge and information on the linkages between biodiversity and climate change;
2.Reiterates the importance of activities to integrate biodiversity into relevant climate change activities and to ensure coherence in national implementation of both the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity;
3.Invites Parties, other Governments, relevant organizations, and indigenous and local communities, when carrying out work on biodiversity and climate change, to consider the proposals to overcome obstacles contained in document UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/9;
4.Welcomes the collaboration among the secretariats of the Rio conventions, the Global Environment Facility and other organizations in the convening of the Rio Conventions Pavilion at meetings of the conferences of the parties to the Rio conventions and as an event convened at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development;
[5.Encourages Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations to [explore options for further financing] [further mobilize resources], in accordance with Article 20 of the Convention and Target 20 of the Strategic Plan [and the Rio Principles, including Principle 7], in order to fill biodiversity and ecosystem services data gaps in the context of climate change, and for research studies at larger spatial scales;]
6.Encourages Parties and other Governments to:
(a)Take into account the importance of traditional knowledge, innovations and practices related to biodiversity when addressing the impacts of climate change in sectoral plans and strategies, especially when considering vulnerable communities;
(b)Strengthen knowledge and information on the linkages between biodiversity, climate change and human well-being in their educational programmes at all levels;
(c)Integrate biodiversity and climate change policies and measures; and
(d)Recognize the role that protected areas and other conservation measures can play in climate-change-related activities;
7.Requests the Executive Secretary, including through the Joint Liaison Group and in line with decision X/33, to:
(a)Identify relevant workshops and activities under the Nairobi work programme on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and disseminate such information through the clearing-house mechanism of the Convention and other means with a view to enhancing knowledge sharing on ecosystem based approaches; and
(b)Continue discussions on the relevant activities presented in document UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/9 for further consideration and implementation as appropriate and based on their financial feasibility, and to explore options to enhance the interoperability of databases managed by the two Secretariats to enhance cooperation on ecosystem based approaches, especially in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to climate change;
8.Also requests the Executive Secretary to promote educational activities on the synergies among climate change, biodiversity and desertification as well as their links to livelihoods and development through the programme of work on communication, education and public awareness;
9.Further requests the Executive Secretary, through the clearing-house mechanism and in collaboration with relevant organizations, to build awareness and capacity among organizations and programmes engaging in climate-change modelling and studies of ongoing biodiversity modelling, scenario, and data management initiatives, including DIVERSITAS, the Biodiversity Observations Network of the Group on Earth Observations and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, among others.

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  • United Nations
  • United Nations Environment Programme